Medicinal mirth: The health benefits of laughter
Mary Desmond Pinkowish | August 2009 issue The teacher gathers his laughter yoga students from the corners of this tiny studio on the second floor of a downtown Manhattan building. Most of us have never met and from the looks on some faces, aren’t quite sure what to expect. "Ha-ha-ha," our Read More...
Miller's online humor survey study
Mary Desmond Pinkowish | August 2009 issue Does laughter prevent heart disease? Michael Miller, director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, thinks so. Here’s why: Several years ago, he and his colleagues gave a humor test to people Read More...
James Maskalyk's experience as a doctor in Sudan
Canadian physician James Maskalyk on why he left a comfortable teaching job to work for Médecins Sans Frontières in Sudan. Marco Visscher | June/July 2009 issue James Maskalyk has been working to improve public health in developing countries ever since he was a medical student at the University Read More...
Book Excerpt: Six Months in Sudan
Ode presents an exclusive book excerpt from Six Months in Sudan: A Young Doctor in a War-Torn Village, by Dr. James Maskalyk. Ode Editors | June/July 2009 issue "What's his hemoglobin?" I ask. "Six," Mohamed says. "Six? Shit." I look down at Manut. His eyes are wide and worried. Today is the Read More...
Doctatorship: Military thinking in medicine
Military thinking has invaded medical thinking. It’s time to replace shock and awe with health and peace. Dana Ullman | May 2009 issue Our military thinking and our medical thinking have a surprising amount in common. It isn’t just happenstance that doctors proudly assert that they seek to Read More...
The placebo effect is not all in your mind
What the placebo effect tells us about the healing power of the brain. David Servan-Schreiber | May 2009 issue In the lab, Takeo couldn't stand it anymore. The itching was driving him crazy. He watched his right arm turn red and wondered why he’d decided to take part in this experiment. He knew Read More...
Had it with the heartburn? Try a Mediterranean diet
April 2009 issue When I was a young assistant professor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I often woke in the night with heartburn. I mentioned it to a few colleagues, who were surprised to hear I didn’t take an antacid every night—as they did—to prevent acid buildup in the stomach. At the Read More...
O. Carl Simonton: Alternative healing
O. Carl Simonton was nominated by H.R.H. Princess Irene of the Netherlands for alternative methods in cancer research. Carol Greenhouse | Jan/Feb 2009 issue O. Carl Simonton, Founder and medical director, Simonton Cancer Center. Malibu, California Photo: Firstline Schools, Inc. O. Carl Read More...
Amit Sood: Restoring well-being with complementary medicine
Economist Noreena Hertz says Amit Sood utilizes his great insights into the mind-body connection in his position at the Mayo Clinic. Lara Endreszl | Jan/Feb 2009 issue Amit Sood, Director of research, Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program, Mayo Clinic. Rochester, Minnesota Mayo Read More...
At our fingertips
Want to make the most of preventive medicine? Supplement your annual physical with the ancient Chinese technique of pulse diagnosis. Tijn Touber | September 2008 issue "Good news. We didn’t find anything." The doctor delivered her verdict from the doorway of my room in the emergency ward of a Read More...